Senate treated with contempt: Evans

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Senate Opposition leader Chris Evans today accused the
Government of planning to remove the checks and balances provided
by the upper house.

The Government won't gain an outright Senate majority until July
1, but Senator Evans said it was already treating the upper house
with contempt.

He said the Government had only scheduled 55 parliamentary
sitting days for next year - the fewest since 1966.

"I think it shows that the Government is treating the Senate
with arrogance," Senator Evans told the Ten Network.

"They're already, I think, looking to exercise its power without
the check of the Senate."

Senator Evans said there was a risk the Government would try to
use its majority in the Senate from July 1 to ram laws through the
Parliament without proper scrutiny.

"The reality is they're already talking about trying to ram
through legislation, cutting the number of sitting days, changing
the rights to speak, changing the whole way the Senate operates in
order to exercise their majority in a way that I think was never
intended," he said.

Senator Evans said Labor would judge bills introduced into the
Senate on their merits in the lead up to the Government gaining a
majority on July 1.

"We're not, if you like, going to try and just be
obstructionist, that's never been our way," he said.

"We'll deal with the legislation.

"If we don't think it's good legislation, we'll vote against
it."

Senator Evans also dismissed speculation Mark Latham could be
dumped from the Labor leadership before the next election.

Fairfax newspapers today reported a section of the Labor caucus
did not believe Mr Latham could ever win an election.

But Senator Evans said Mr Latham had run a good campaign at the
last election and rejected a suggestion Labor could change leaders
within six to 12 months.

"There's always that speculation because it helps fill
newspapers but the reality is Mark ran a very good campaign,"
Senator Evans told the Ten Network.

"We made a lot of mistakes but Mark doesn't have to take sole
responsibility for that.

"We as a collective have to take responsibility for the things
we did wrong."

Senator Evans said Labor could win the next election.

"The Labor Party has now spent millions of dollars solving one
of our problems which is getting the electorate to know Mark
Latham," he said.

"His approval ratings were solid, he's very well regarded in the
electorate and I think we've got the basis to win the next
election.